A Thank you to the business owners making low waste living easier

10 October 2017

How pretty are the flowers? These beauties were presented to me by Wendy, owner of The Source Bulk Foods Bowral after a talk I gave at her event. The handkerchief to the left was carefully wrapped around them, a thoughtful nod to my love of hankies. While it was lovely to receive these I felt like I should've passed them back to Wendy and her team! Truthfully my ability to reduce rubbish is made easier by people like Wendy. Running a small business is not easy, especially one that is in competition with the big supermarkets. I can only imagine it would take guts, passion and self belief to set store up against Coles and Woolworths, or whatever big supermarket chain it is in your country.

It's not just the Wendy's I'm grateful for. There are other small business owners, in brick and mortar stores and online, working their butts off making the reusable revolution accessible. There are so many of you out there. I was chatting with Zero Waste Victoria's awesome volunteers on accessibility and zero waste living. If there is no accessibility people won't be move towards it. I know there is a long way to go yet for making this lifestyle anywhere close to normal, but aren't we lucky to have pioneers willing to stick there necks out, setting up systems that will have a lasting positive impact on the environment and generations to come.

This is a just a little reminder for myself to thank the people opening these type of businesses that make it easier to choose and live sustainable, keeping it unpackaged and low waste. I really do appreciate it.

Well the blog has been a little quite lately. Due in part to Tifl becoming more active and wanting to play. He's sitting, rolling, dragging himself around the house, each development exciting and terrifying to witness. I've also spent the last few weeks working on secret projects while preparing for and running zero waste workshops. Anyway, a happy little email from Brooke McAlary of Slow Your Home bounced into my inbox last week about one of the secret projects, giving me the green light to share it with you. If you know the Slow Home Podcast then you can hedge a bet the project i'm about to talk about will be awesome. And yet somehow I was asked to be part of it.

Brooke and her partner Ben have put together Live Life Simply a six-week slow living retreat, and if you click through (which I hope you do) you'll see my face as one of the facilitators along with a host of talented people sharing wisdom on slow and simple living. The online course is for anyone wanting to realign their priorities in a fast paced world.

A six-week, all-access pass to more than 15 seminars by some of the leading experts in slow and simple living, where we focus on learning the essentials of meditation, mindfulness, simple productivity, low-waste living, easy whole foods, mindful money, slow yoga, low tox living, slow technology, bringing family members along for the journey, and how to create slow rituals on even the busiest of days.

You will also have access to videos, audio files, workbooks, playlists and questionnaires, all designed to help you slow down and simplify life not only over the six weeks of the retreat, but for the months and years that follow.

The retreat opens on October 23, 2017 and you will gain immediate access to everything and are free to work through each session at your own pace. Plus a private Facebook group to ask any questions and connect with like minded folk wanting to set the foundations to create a life lived simply.

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Hello & Welcome

I've been writing about my own journey since 2013 sharing how I've reduced plastic and my rubbish, leading to a happier and healthier life. Through my pursuit to live plastic-free and zero-waste, I've learnt to eat real food, discovered new skills, cut down my exposure to harmful chemicals, found joy in moments over things and simplified my life, while saving money.

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Online shopping recommendations for when you can't find it local or secondhand

These online stores have been chosen carefully with my readers in mind for their low waste, palm oil free and sustainable practices. If you choose to purchase a product from any of these businesses my blog receives a commission at no cost to you. Thank you for the support.